Crocodile Feeds Flamingo
by groaar
Summary: One rainy night Sir Crocodile receives a surprise visitor he is not all too pleased to welcome, Donquixote Doflamingo! But as he quickly realises something is out of the ordinary he decides to make an exception. However, Crocodile seems to be in for a bigger surprise than he had originally imagined. Sequel to "Flamingo Eats Crocodile". DoflaxCroc, slash, yaoi, whatever you prefer
1. Chapter 1

I was originally going to write this a looooong time ago, but when I noticed Doflamingo was maybe going to have a big role in the upcoming arcs I had to wait and see how things would turn out in order to decide to what degree I would stick to the original story.  
Buuut, then I got tired of waiting and went ahead with writing :P  
Then my computer crashed and some story was deleted… I went ballistic and refused to look at the story for a long time. Then, after a long battle with myself, I sat down and finished it, finally!  
Thanks to all you who have waited patiently for a sequel to my previous story! I am a slow writer, and I'm so sorry!

This story takes place somewhere between chapters 700 and 712, so yeah, spoiler alert!

And yes, this story is a sequel to "Flamingo Eats Crocodile"! This story takes place about half a year to a year after the incidents in "Flamingo Eats Crocodile", and in this time Doflamingo and Crocodile have been seeing each other at least somewhat frequently.

Warnings: This story does contain OP spoilers (about up to chapter 712ish)! Furthermore the story also includes male on male action! Slash, yaoi, call it whatever you want… Now that you have been warned you may continue at your own risk.

Disclaimer: Crocodile, Doflamingo and One Piece do not belong to me but to Eiichiro Oda.

* * *

Rain was pouring down from a gray, ominous sky. The droplets, though small, fell with such force that they drowned out all other sounds, even the roaring of the stormy sea. The downpour had lulled the world into darkness and the poor visibility had even the most experienced seafarers trembling at the mere thought of setting sails in this weather. It was almost as if the violent rain was daring anyone to step outside their cosy homes. But, not everyone is intimidated by storms, not even storms of such calibre as this one.

In a port town a ship stood anchored. It was rocking furiouslyas apprehensive waves tried to tug and turn it to their pleasure, but, as the ship was tightly secured the weather had not yet managed to damage the grand vessel. Water poured down hard on the wooden deck, and the constant pattering of droplets against wood reminded strongly of an erratic drumbeat. The never-ending stream of translucent liquid had also caused a thin layer of water to settle over the planks, thus making the deck very treacherous and slippery.

Apart from a tall, blond man the deck was empty of people.

The man, soaked from head to toe, walked with heavy, yet cautious steps over wet wooden planks, the water splashing slightly under his feet as he made his way towards the ship's railing. Without warning a high wave swept in over deck, and the man convulsively gripped after the wooden railing for support. Tightly, he wrapped his long, thin fingers around the clammy wooden bar, resting his whole bodyweight on it.

The blond, otherwise seemingly unbothered by the weather, shuddered somewhat as a sudden gust cut across the ship, tugging aggressively at his large, feathery jacket. The pink, fluffy feathers, by which the overcoat was completely covered, did not as effectively repel water as the plumage of a real bird, thus leaving the tall man frozen to the core. But, if this bothered him, he didn't let it show. The blond just stood there, completely still, gazing almost longingly out at the stormy sea. No matter how the wind tore at his clothes, or how much the rain endeavoured in soaking and chilling him, the man did not move. It was almost as if he stood there waiting for someone.

**···················**

Down in his cabin Crocodile's eyes shot open without apparent reason, waking him from a shallow and dreamless slumber. Something was off, the dark haired man could feel it in his bones. Without moving from the comfortable chair he currently occupied he started scanning each and every inch of the room in search of an intruder. But, he could spot no one. Still, Crocodile was sure of that he had felt an eerie presence in the air, and as suspected, when straining his hearing he could register unnatural sounds coming from deck. Footsteps.

Golden eyes briefly travelled over to a small metallic watch propped upon one of the many shelves in the bookcase. It read 10:12 pm. The dark haired man realised he must have, once again, fallen asleep while reading, and as he looked down he saw the book still lay sprawled open over his lap. Silently shaking his head Crocodile picked the book up and placed it on a table situated just next to his armchair; a comfortable one that Crocodile considered himself lucky to have become the owner of. The chair was made of dark, rich leather and it was soft, but not too much so. It didn't look over the top, but it was by no means modest. It held just the air of luxury that Crocodile required of his furniture.

While mentally going through his list of enemies, and trying to figure out who it could be sneaking around on his ship, Crocodile gently stretched his arms and back. His beloved armchair often invited him to sleep, but his body had never appreciated the after-effects much. The abnormal position always left his muscles stiff, and as if this wasn't enough Crocodile had lately noticed a dull but persistent ache building up in his lower back. Perhaps he really ought to stop reading before going to bed, at least if he risked falling asleep in the chair.

However, these were all trivial things Crocodile could mull over any night. Now, on the other hand, he better focus on the more pressing matter; the possible intrusion of his ship. And so, with brisk strides, the pirate left the room and the empty armchair behind and headed for deck to investigate further.

Careful, so not to cause a loud creaking noise, Crocodile took his time opening the door leading out onto deck. He put his right palm against the wooden surface while he let his golden hook press down on the door handle, pushing the door open with outmost care. Holding his breath the man let the door slide open, not fully, but enough so that he could observe a large part of the deck.

Rain was pouring down and the sky was dark, making it hard for the man's reptilian eyes to spot any movement even though they keenly scanned every corner of the water drenched ship. The fact that it was raining was also bad news for Crocodile. Water being the pirate's big weakness, he did not want to risk venturing out into the storm. Sighing, Crocodile yet again, with patience only acquired with age, let his eyes slide from one end of the main deck to the other, ready to activate his devil fruit powers if necessary. And his persistency did indeed pay off when his third try finally yielded results. He spotted the intruder, a man leaning against the railing on the far side of the ship. The rain might have compensated his vision, but there was no mistaking that pink, fluffy tuft. Crocodile would recognise it anywhere, and now more than ever Crocodile felt like blowing the damn flamingo back to whatever hole he had crawled up from.

Fuming, the man with dark hair walked out on deck, no longer bothered by the rain. Doflamingo was no danger, or at least he should not be out to hurt Crocodile. Only after having started his short journey towards the flamingo did Crocodile regret his decision though, as he realised he had let anger get the upper hand and rushed into a very disadvantageous situation. Here he was, out in the rain, soaked, and heading for a blond that without doubt had ill intentions, even though they might not involve directly harming Crocodile. However, it was too late to turn back now. The birdbrain had already caught scent of him. So, in order to keep his dignity intact, Crocodile reluctantly continued his walking.

He had but reached the blond's side before the large man had wrapped his feather covered arms around him and pressed his wet, cold lips against Crocodile's. The older captain had not even had time to react, nonetheless protest.

The kiss was desperate, needy and demanding. Crocodile found himself yielding into the pressure of the other's devouring lips, not because he felt forced to but because he was too bewildered to do otherwise. Something was off, he could feel it. Crocodile did just not know what that something was. What he did know though, was that Doflamingo wasn't playing by his usual rules. The blond was not playing any games, nor making any deals or bets for that matter. Actually Doflamingo was making no requests whatsoever. Not any verbal ones at least.

He was only demanding. Physically taking what he wanted.

True, the flamingo would never ask for permission, but _this_ differed significantly from his usual behaviour.

Also, it was extremely unusual for Doflamingo to breach their agreement. There had been no misunderstandings between them when Crocodile had requested the pink idiot was to stay of his boat. In fact, Doflamingo had actually rather effortlessly agreed to not set foot on the ship and had seemed rather content with meeting up at hotels or other secure and secluded places. So far the flamingo had not once breeched this specific arrangement, and Crocodile had almost come to believe one of his wishes was actually respected, but it turned out to be yet another broken promise. The sand controller grew slightly bitter at the thought, mentally cursing the blond fool. Not that Crocodile had been expecting much, but with time his hopes had risen without him even noticing it. In reality, more than being angry with Doflamingo for breaking the rules the scarred man realised he was far more annoyed with himself for ever imagining the possibility of such a scenario. A world where Doflamingo would stick with his word did simply not exist.

Involuntarily the scarred man shook. It was cold, cold and very wet. His clothes had been practically soaked through with rain by now, and the gigantic man's dripping pink jacket made things no better. Crocodile could feel drops of water run down his cheeks, his back, his legs, hell, down every damn part of his body. On top of that the flamingo's lips were also icy, and wet. Neither the kiss, nor the embrace Crocodile had been forced into, held any of the passion that Doflamingo usually displayed through his actions. Feeling rather lacklustre Crocodile pulled away from the other and forcefully started pushing the pink mass of feathers away from him, his hand sinking deep into the cold, dripping coat in the process. The sensation of wet flamingo jackets were nothing he ever wanted to experience again.

His attempts to rid himself of the birdbrain, sadly, had a very low success rate.

Doflamingo, rather than giving in to Crocodiles wishes, started pulling more impatiently and harshly at the other pirate's clothes, dragging him closer. When at suitable distance the large man dropped his cold lips down to Crocodile's neck, tasting it, licking it, kissing it. Doflamingo might be enjoying himself, but the same couldn't be said about Crocodile. The former shichibukai's nerves had had more than enough of this stupid charade. Putting on a display like this on deck was not on Crocodile's list of favourite things to do, not even on stormy night like this when no one was around. Hoping to make the flamingo abide by his rules Crocodile silently muttered that they should continue things in a more private, significantly dryer, setting. Internally though, he hoped Doflamingo would calm down once inside.

The flamingo didn't acknowledge him at first, but when the raven haired repeated his demand in a slightly firmer voice Doflamingo, letting out a long, cold and shaky breath, nodded his head slowly. And so began the short walk back inside, Crocodile in the lead and a silent Doflamingo following hard on his heels.

* * *

It's quite short, I know, but more is to come!


	2. Chapter 2

Back in the warmth of the captain's cabin Doflamingo wasted no time ripping of his own clothes, carelessly throwing them on the ground before stalking over to Crocodile's immaculately made bed. Not the result Crocodile had hoped for. With distaste he frowned at the wet bundle of colourful clothes the flamingo had left to lie on the expensive carpet, his expensive carpet.

The man, not wanting to see his precious carpet ruined, bent down to gather the soaked fabrics. The flamingo's outfit was ridiculously hard to carry and no matter how he tried to grab it something would always threaten to fall, or then Crocodile would find himself with a face full of pinks, dripping feathers. Not only was the bundle of clothes so big that the dark haired man had a hard time carrying it all at once, but the pink coat, drenched in water, weighed more than Crocodile could ever have imagined. With his teeth gritted in an attempt to quench his annoyance the man walked over to a wooden clothes-rack stood in a corner of the room, but, despite his tightly shut mouth the number of profanities that escaped Crocodile's lips during the short walk was remarkably high.

Surprisingly, the blond remained quiet during the whole time, not uttering a word while Crocodile carefully hang the clothes to dry. He didn't even comment on the insults showered on him.

Despite the unusual silence the captain of the ship was still sure he was being closely watched. The air surrounding him was filled with tension and Crocodile mused that this must be how it felt to be stalked by a starving predator. He was quite sure that the blond's eyes were practically glued to his back, observing his every move in order to determine when would be the best moment to strike. A quick glance in Doflamingo's direction confirmed Crocodile's suspicions; the birdbrain looked ready to pounce at any given moment.

Sighing bitterly the hooked man started undressing. The wet fabric was freezing cold and the pale man hated the way the material clung to his body, so it was a slight relief to finally get rid of his soaked clothes.

Crocodile didn't really feel in the mood to fuck the blond, but the prospect of what could follow if he chose to not give in was even worse. He was rarely intimidated, and even less so by the blond, but Doflamingo had a reputation. Crocodile was overly aware of the fact that a trail of corpses could be detected in the flamingo's wake. He didn't know the exact body count, but he knew it was high, and taking Doflamingo's odd demeanour into consideration Crocodile didn't feel like trying his luck. Not today. If the initiative to embraced Doflamingo was his, the blond would at least not have a reason to lash out at him in madness nor would he have any reason to use his manipulative devil fruit powers, which was something Crocodile wanted to avoid at any cost.

Crocodile made for the bed in silence. As soon as he entered the blond's territory two strong arms wrapped around his waist, harshly pulling the smaller man down onto the bed. Just by the feel of the other's hands Crocodile knew that the flamingo had not calmed down at all.

Doflamingo was rough and violent. He was way too fast and impatient, but the blond didn't even seem to notice. The older man hadn't been too bothered at first, the flamingo had shown these antics before, but as the minutes rolled by Crocodile found that he couldn't really get into the mood even if he had give it an honest try.

The rough lips caressing his soft skin. The big fingers trailing along his body, gripping for his privates. The heavy body pressing against his. It all felt wrong.

It didn't feel less pleasurable than usual but Doflamingo seemed more distant than ever, and even though Crocodile did not like admitting it he found it rather off-putting to not have his partner focus fully on him. However, deciding it was for the best not to complain the scarred man just went along with whatever the flamingo initiated.

Unexpectedly a sharp pain shot through the pale man's left shoulder, successfully putting an end to his brooding. Crocodile felt his breath get stuck in his throat and he found himself involuntarily clenching his eyes shut, all brought on by the intense pain and sheer surprise caused by Doflamingo's assault. Crocodile hadn't seen it coming. The bastard had bit him, mercilessly just clamped down on his collarbone. Playful biting was something they both did on occasion but Crocodile did not count this as playful nibbling, this was a bite strong enough to draw blood, if not even cut away a chunk of flesh.

Cracking open one of his golden eyes Crocodile confirmed his suspicions; he was now decorated with what could not be anything else but a bite mark, its red colour making it stand out immensely against his almost white skin. This little game the fool of a bird had put on had gone too far, and Crocodile was slowly starting to get very fed up with it. Annoyed, Crocodile snapped both eyes open and directed a murderous glare at the flamingo, fully prepared to shout whatever profanity first came to mind at the whacky blond. But, contrary to Crocodile's expectations, the look on his partner's face suffocated all words of spite that he had managed to think up.

The tanned face was decorated with multiple, transparent droplets of sweat, and to Crocodile's surprise the familiar white row of teeth was nowhere to be seen. Instead a rather complex expression graced the loony face. Or, complex might not be the correct word to describe it, the dark haired thought briefly, because the more he looked at Doflamingo's face the more expressionless and distant it seemed to become. There was no ridicule, no annoyance, nor any lust to be seen anywhere in the face that Crocodile was looking up at. Doflamingo even seemed oblivious to his anger. It was not right, it was not the norm, and this diversion made Crocodile feel uneasy.

This was unfamiliar territory, and Crocodile did not know what to make of it. His need to complain and the intense rage he had felt occupying his mind up until recently were slowly dying down. Gradually his temper cooled, and soon the dark haired man was back into his rather passive role. For now, he figured, it was the easiest option.

When the couple had been going at it for a while Crocodile felt a not as unexpected, but just as harsh, stinging of pain spread throughout his body. The raven haired could feel his muscle tense in protest to the sudden intrusion and he had to bite down hard on his lower lip not to gasp out loud in pain. All the same, Doflamingo showed little concern to his partner's discomfort. And, as the blond appeared unwilling to wait until Crocodile had adjusted he left the scarred man with no choice but to force his body to relax, which bearing the abnormal size of his partner in mind wasn't an easy task.

Little by little the pain dulled down, mixing with a growing sensation of pleasure. Perhaps this was not the way the two usually rolled, but Crocodile refused to let the sunglass loving idiot be the only one to receive some sort of satisfaction from this encounter. He could continue his mulling over motives later, so for now he forced every fibre in his body to concentrate solely on the body pounding into his, and the feeling that was born as the two connected.

**···················**

After the ordeal, which had dragged on longer than Crocodile had anticipated, Doflamingo had fallen fast asleep without exchanging as much as one word with the older man. While both had reached climax there was still a lot that had been askew with the previous session, and even now Crocodile had about a million of questions gnawing at the back of his mind. As much as the pale man would have wanted an explanation for the flamingo's behaviour though, he decided it would be wiser to wait. He could live with postponing the interrogation until a bit later. The blond had looked just a tad paler than usual, and also, the number of wrinkles on the tanned forehead seemed to have increased, so Crocodile could only assume Doflamingo actually needed the sleep.

Contrary to Doflamingo, Crocodile no longer felt the slightest bit sleepy. Waking up in the middle of the night usually ruined any plans the scarred man had for a full night's rest, so he decided he might as well stay awake and get some work done. Before crawling out of bed he cast one last glance at the blond man. Doflamingo's tanned chest, still glistening with sweat from the earlier encounter, was heaving up and down in a steady pace and his matted blond hear, still dripping with rainwater, was plastered across his forehead. Even in sleep the distinct lines on the large man's face were noticeable, causing Crocodile to wonder whether the man ever relaxed completely.

A dull ache still hunted Crocodile's body and getting up from the bed he had to lean heavily on his golden hook to support his weight. The dark haired had expected some pains, the flamingo had not been very gentle during the process, but it was not only the obvious areas that were aching.

His back ached from the number of exhausting and strange positions he had been lured into, and to his dismay Crocodile noticed that Doflamingo had left not only one, but a number of bite marks all over his neck and shoulders. Running a hand through his messy hair Crocodile figured the marks must have had been left in the heat of the moment, as he up until now had failed to notice that his frivolous sex-partner had done such damage. A shudder crept down the pale man's back at the thought and he quickly averted his golden eyes from the marks, instead focusing to the back of his head; the place that ached worst of all.

It took a while for the pirate to recall the incident that had lead to such circumstances, but as he slowly rubbed the back of his head he could feel a distinct swelling through the thick, black mess of hair. A bump. And, at once it all came back to him. For the millionth time that day he cursed the man who now lay sleeping soundly on his bed.

During a violently intimate moment Crocodile had somehow gotten positioned so that his head was banging against the bedpost. The reason to why this had happened was ridiculously simple; the damn flamingo was just too big for Crocodile's bed, and also way too self-absorbed, it seemed, to notice that he had placed Crocodile in a rather compromising position. The idiot's too big frame caused a lack of proper playroom, so to say, and Doflamingo was one who did not refrain from going wild in bed. The sand controller bet that if they'd do it in the flamingo's bed though, they'd have plenty of room though.

Crocodile had always imagined that Doflamingo must have a bed suited his size, but he wouldn't know. Crocodile had never paid Doflamingo a visit, because, why would he? And the other man had never asked him to come either. It was always the blond who took the initiatives, always Doflamingo who came to visit him, so he had never thought about it until now… Considering the flamingo's personality the dark hair man found himself slightly perplexed by why the flamingo had never asked him to come, because persistent as he was it just seemed weird. Then again, Crocodile supposed it was easier for Doflamingo to keep his toys from running into each other if he was the one who made the visits, rather than having everyone come to him.

While thoughts similar to these were currently demanding the better part of Crocodile's attention he was determined not to let it keep him from work. Slipping on a thin robe he headed over to his sizable and expensive desk and seated himself. A large bunch of documents, as well as a pen, were already lying on the table, waiting for him.

However, the minute he set out to do some work he found his mind had already travelled elsewhere. That is back to Doflamingo's questionable behaviour. Or, perhaps he had never fully left that area.

While Crocodile couldn't say he knew the man on a very personal plain, as he had never deemed it profitable enough to put in the effort required, he had still spent a considerable enough amount of time with the foolish blond to know that something was not as it should be. Too many components were off, and the atmosphere itself, from the moment he had laid eyes upon Doflamingo earlier the same evening, had been different. It had been strained, and above all desperate.

The flamingo, no matter how desperate he was would always make a big number out of teasing Crocodile, and tonight he had not. As a matter of fact Doflamingo had said nothing at all, not a single word. And when pondering further over the matter Crocodile couldn't help but take note of a few other oddities as well. Such as that the birdbrain's customary smile was off. To be honest this was not too unusual, as Doflamingo at times would look concentrated during sex, but concentration was not the expression Crocodile would have subscribed the flamingo today. And topping it all off, the blond had not removed his glasses.

For about thirty minutes Crocodile tried to focus on business, but as thoughts about the flamingo constantly were invading his brain there had been little progress. After reading about halfway through a document he would lose focus, and when reaching the end he'd have to start all over because he had missed some critical piece of information.

A bitter expression gradually worked its way into Crocodile's facial features as he repeated this process over and over, forever stuck in an endless loop. The more he tried to focus on work the more distracted he felt, and the more distracted he felt the angrier he got. Enraged at himself, and the idiot sleeping in his bed, Crocodile dropped the pen on the desk and pushed himself up from the chair. There was just no use in working if he didn't get anything done, and, if he did nothing about this vicious circle it would just continue until he'd get so worked up he couldn't think straight any longer. That is, if he hadn't already passed that mark.

Grabbing the wineglass he had used at dinner, Crocodile staggered over to a cupboard and pulled out a bottle of wine and poured himself a healthy helping of the red brew. Regrettably, not even the ample wine and an expensive cigar could bring Sir Crocodile to size his ruminating. Thoughts, speculations and ideas, all centred on the flamingo, kept mercilessly flicking through his mind no matter how he tried to prevent them.

Pondering upon what had happened to cause such a reaction in the flamingo did indeed make Crocodile utterly frustrated, but this wasn't the main issue. What really brought him over the edge was contemplating over whether confronting Doflamingo would imply stepping over the line he had drawn between himself and the man. Crocodile was curious about something that shouldn't really matter. The two would always meet, shag and part. That Doflamingo happened to be in a bad mood should not affect him this much. Furthermore, the fact that Doflamingo was sleeping sweetly on his bed, and thus escaping all the confusion and frustration, only added to Crocodile's sullenness.

After mulling over the matter for yet a while Crocodile reached the conclusion that he'd confront the flamingo, even if it took its toll on his pride. He'd rather take out his resentment on Doflamingo than leave it in his system, and, in any case, waking Doflamingo also meant he could force him to leave. First of all the idiot wasn't even allowed upon Crocodile's ship, secondly Crocodile had completely tired of that content, sleeping face and wanted to get rid of it as soon as possible. Thus, knocking back the remainder of his wine, the dark haired headed back to his bed.

Casting a malevolent glance at the sleeping blond Crocodile roughly grabbed one of the flamingo's shoulders and tried to shake some life into his tormentor, but the blond didn't as much as stir. However, one couldn't exactly claim that Crocodile would have been disappointed when he was forced to rely upon more violent methods to wake the flamingo. The feelings of satisfaction and delight when he hit the blond hard across the face with the golden hook were very liberating, and as a bonus this method proved to be far more successful than his previous one. Doflamingo bolted up, angrily glaring at the former shichibukai.

"I require an explanation" Crocodile growled, his eyes drilling into the blond who was currently busying himself with rubbing his sore cheek, which was quickly turning a deep shade of red. Not before the older man repeated his request did the younger man, as always spaced out, even acknowledge him.

"Explanation to what?" Doflamingo mumbled. His voice still slightly dozy but a smug smile was already tugging at his thin, somewhat chapped lips.

The carefree attitude accompanied by the feigned ignorance had Crocodile jabbing at Doflamingo again, but this time his punch was avoided with ease. Taking a deep breath Crocodile collected all remaining shreds of his patience. Then, in a rather strained voice, he repeated his question, but this time he rephrased it so that there would be no room for misconception.

"I don't have time for your games, Doflamingo. Either you tell me the reason to your utterly foolish behaviour or then you just get out of here at once!"

And, without missing as much as a beat, the flamingo replied.

"I wanted to have sex"

And, just as Crocodile was about to explode of anger, the blond added he was now hoping for a repeat.

By now the older man was way past the point of exploding. Rather than roaring and screaming, like he had originally planned, Crocodile found himself infuriated beyond words. Doflamingo was such a child. A foolish, mad, overgrown child. Without a word Crocodile spun around and stalked back to the armchair he had occupied earlier that evening, sat down, and picked up the book he had been engrossed in before any of the trouble involving Doflamingo had started. The older pirate knew very well that if there was something Doflamingo hated it was being ignored. This would usually result in the blond getting bored and leaving, and right now Crocodile could wish for nothing more. Much to his surprise though, when he looked up from his book about fifteen minutes later, the flamingo was still quietly sitting upon the bed.

The two stared at each other for a few minutes until the blond finally opened his mouth, his husky voice cutting through the thick silence of the room.

"I wanna take a bath"

The bizarre nature of his request had Crocodile doubting his ears.

"What!?"

"A bath" the flamingo repeated calmly.

"…" It wasn't as if he hadn't caught the request the first time, Crocodile thought to himself, he had just been taken by surprise by the character of the demand.

While his mind was preoccupied with finding a suitable response, Crocodile suddenly caught his body giving the blond directions, his pale finger pointing Doflamingo in the direction of the big oaken door leading to the annexed bathroom.

Flashing the paler man a big, bright smile Doflamingo jumped of the bed and headed straight for the door he had been advised to take. Somewhere in the back of his head he raven haired could hear the featherbrained man compliment his luxurious bath and great taste in finesse before the heavy door was pulled shut, but his brain didn't really register what was said. Of all things Crocodile thought would happen this had not even made it on to the bottom of his list.

* * *

I'm very tired and the seasonal flue has also decided that now, when I'm at my busiest, is the best time to strike. I tried to read through this text multiple times, but some (or quite a high number of) grammatical/spelling/etc errors have probably remained undetected by this extenuated author.

I hope you all will like it anyway though!

Feel free to leave a comment if you want, it'd make my day! :)


	3. Chapter 3

A big, big, BIG thank you to all you who have reviewed!

You don't know just how much it means to me. Receiving a review really makes my whole day, and considering the amount of work I had to get through before Christmas that is something I appreciate deeply. Thank you!

Warning: From here on the real spoilers kick in, just so you are aware! And also, some OCCness!

* * *

A few hours later and Doflamingo had still to exit the bathroom. Crocodile had tried to pass time reading his book, but unfortunately this had proved less interesting than speculating about the blond. Something aching to worry was nagging at the back of Crocodile's mind, and this in itself was a major headache. His mind was constantly travelling to places it should not. He couldn't understand what kept the flamingo in the bathroom for so long, since no normal living creature spent that much time taking a bath. Then again Doflamingo was far from normal, but, this had stretched out for unusually long, even for flamingo standards.

Against his better judgement the tall, pale man rose and walked over to the door Doflamingo had entered hours earlier. As carefully as he could Crocodile turned the handled and pushed the large door ajar, but despite all precautions to remain undetected the door made the most terrible squeaking sound when opened and the blond had immediately snapped his head into Crocodile's direction. If he was to back out now Crocodile was sure the flamingo would never let him forget about it, and anyhow, the damage was already done. The dark haired man thus decided to enter the room; a decision he regretted seconds after stepping inside.

"I was just coming to see if you might have drowned... sadly it seems to not be the case" Crocodile muttered bitterly, hoping to wipe the smirk off Doflamingo's face, even though he knew his attempt was futile.

"Aw, were you worried about me, Crocodile?" Doflamingo cooed, bringing his hands together and tilting his head to the side in feigned surprise.

"Well, you can dream up whatever excuse you want…" Crocodile replied in a dry, seemingly uncaring voice. Internally though, the raven haired pirate wholeheartedly cursed the idiot and made a mental note not to ever again worry about the other man. He should have known the flamingo was enough of a bird to thrive in water. However, as Crocodile was about to turn away and leave the room the voice he hated so deeply came back to haunt him again. He half expected Doflamingo to ridicule him further, but, this was not the case.

"Wait! Now when you're here why don't you just join me?"

Doflamingo's deep voice rang in Crocodile's ears, and with one hand placed on the door handle he halted his movement, silently thinking over the flamingo's proposition. However, he quickly reached the conclusion that he had neither the energy nor desire to spend time with the blond, be it in a bath or outside. With a tired shake of his head he made sure Doflamingo was aware of this fact as well. But of course, the decision making was not left to Crocodile alone, as he should have known by this point.

"You know, Croco, you don't know how to relax!" the flamingo teased, starching his body as if to show Crocodile what real enjoyment was all tantalising tone that mingled in the deep voice did not go by the older pirate undetected, and if this wasn't aggravating enough the use of the absurd nickname darkened Crocodile's cloudy mind even further.

"I used to. Before I met you, that is…" he mumbled sourly, turning back to face the door. One could only endure so much Doflamingo in one go. As expected though, the man soaking in the bath didn't share Crocodile's conviction of them having reached an end of conversation, but anew urged the older pirate to join him.

As soon as the words "join me" had rolled of Doflamingo's lips, Crocodile, almost reflexively, replied "no, I won't".

"Afraid because you'll be unable to escape because of the water?" Doflamingo retorted.

Pale fingers clenched around the golden doorknob, rendering the knuckles of his fist even whiter than before. Crocodile was unsure of whether the flamingo's taunting voice actually echoed in the tiled room or if it was all just in his head, but either way the previous statement didn't stop ringing in his ears. He could feel the blood pumping violently through his body, the vain in his neck throbbing almost painfully. His anger was, despite all effort, getting the upper hand.

Crocodile would like to walk out of the room, pretending he had never even heard what Doflamingo had spouted, but his pride wouldn't let him. Before he knew it he had loosened his grip on the door handle, and through his gritted teeth escaped an agreement to join Doflamingo.

Taking the wild game he played with the flamingo in bed into consideration a bath might actually not be a bad idea, at least under different circumstances. That it was Doflamingo's skilful pushing of his buttons that had him faced with this situation did indeed feed Crocodile's rage, but, no matter how he had tried to look at and assess the situation taking the damn bath had seemed like the better option. If not, he would have given the flamingo a weakness to teas and taunt him about for years to come, because form experience he knew the madman was not one to let things just slide.

Back still facing Doflamingo the raven haired man slowly started stripping off the green silken robe he had pulled on when having got up. He took his time, folding it nicely before placing it on a bench in the corner of the room. Placing his good hand on his cold, metallic hook Crocodile thoroughly weighed the pros and cons that would follow if he took it off. In the end he decided against it. Being in the same room as Doflamingo, naked, surely meant he'd need all the extra safety measures he could lay hands on.

"Won't you take your hook off?" The blond questioned from behind him, causing the older man to snort in amusement. Turning his head a bit toward the blond he couldn't but comment of the ironic nature of the question, as Doflamingo's sunglasses had not left the blond's side either.

He received no answer.

A victorious smile pulled at Crocodile's lips as he headed for the shower. It was seldom the absurd blond remained quiet.

"Just stay at your own end, flamingo" Crocodile grumbled once he had finished his shower and carefully lowered himself into the large tub. Doflamingo had laughed scornfully at the warning but stayed at his own end, probably realising that acting up now would result in nothing but his own loss.

Having made sure the blond was not up to any of his usual mischief Crocodile allowed his body to relax, his tens muscles gradually loosening in the water. Speaking of the water it was still warm, if not even bordering on hot, making the former warlord wonder just what ungodly temperature it must have been when Doflamingo first had got in. Also, sinking deeper into the tub Crocodile noticed a distinctly sweet fragrance rising from the bathwater. The dark haired figured it was the flamingo's doing, but chose not to question the other about such a trivial thing, not when he had more pressing matters at hand anyway.

"So…" Crocodile started discreetly, unsure of whether starting this conversation again would actually yield any more sustainable answers than last time, yet he was determined to get an answer of some sort. This was the reason to why the man decided to go through with his question regardless of the low chances of success.

"Why did you come here?"

The answer he received was a generous amount of water in his face, splashed by none else but Doflamingo. An even worse outcome than he had anticipated. Crocodile's urge to lash out at the idiot was immense, but instead of following his first whim, the pale man chose to just smile bitterly and wait for the flamingo to present him with a more proper reaction. It much reminded Crocodile of the way he'd treat a naughty child.

Despite the older man's reaction Doflamingo still had his blinding smile in place, but it seemed somewhat strained, and soon a long string of threats and profanities pushed past the blond's thin lips. Crocodile figured Doflamingo's goal was to annoy him until he gave in and reverted to his usual behaviour, but this time the captain of the ship had made up his mind, he wouldn't let the flamingo get to him. Preserving his calm demeanour, even though mentally strangling the blond, Crocodile patiently waited for the younger man, who clearly did not want to discuss the matter, to present him with a decent answer.

It took quite a while, but in the end he received a reaction.

"What?! You wanna play 10 questions or something, huh?" the blond had finally scoffed, not bothering to hide the frustration that was clearly visible in his face.

Although remaining calm, Crocodile knitted his eyebrows at the sudden outburst. It was not exactly what he had expected, and at first the dark haired didn't know how to best respond. After a thorough assessment of the situation though, Crocodile chose to participate in the game Doflamingo had suggested. The blond had for one apparently not expected the older man to approve of the game, and, cocking his head to the side with a nervous laugh he urged Crocodile to start.

"Fine" Crocodile mumbled, thoughtfully stroking his scar, trying to think of a question to kick off the game with. He couldn't jump to his question of desire at once or the conversation would, without a doubt, come to an immediate halt. For the time being he had to think of something else.

Golden eyes flickered over to the flamingo, and Crocodile settled upon asking the first question that came to mind while resting his eyes upon the other man.

"Why do you always wear sunglasses?"

"They're cool and they look good!"

The answer came fast, too fast for Crocodile to actually believe it. It seemed rehearsed. While the dark haired was sure there was some other underlying reason to Doflamingo's exaggerated use of shades he settled with whatever nonsense the flamingo fed him at the moment. This was not the mystery he had set out to solve today, so the real issue behind the blond's shades would have to be pushed aside for now. Nodding his head at Doflamingo, Crocodile indicated he was satisfied and prompted the other to take his turn asking.

"Why can't I get on your ship?"

The flamingo's question shot out of his mouth just as quickly and effortlessly as the previous answer, and Crocodile's answer also followed suit. It was a simple matter; he did not want to meet the flamingo. Upon hearing this the blond had enquired if it had nothing to do with the plausibility of the crew finding out, but Crocodile had only scoffed at this proposition and ensured the flamingo that he had just wasted a question, as the answer should have been obvious.

Doflamingo had merely laughed delightfully at Crocodile's sharp reply, commenting on how interesting it would be if they were found in an uncompromising position. The pale man regarded the tanned one sceptically. Not sharing the same sense of humour as the blond Crocodile failed to grasp what part of the described scenario would be interesting, but he chose not to comment on the matter. Crocodile didn't want the game to continue forever, so instead of arguing with Doflamingo he pressed on with his next question.

"What is the best moment of your life?"

The words had apparently left the blond slightly stunned, and it took the younger man a while to think of an answer.

Soaking up to his shoulders in warm, soothing water Crocodile amusedly observed Doflamingo from his side of the bathtub, pleased to see that his question had caused the younger man to sink into a rare moment of thought. Finally, a short string of words left the ridiculously big mouth, and Crocodile questioningly raised an eyebrow, wishing for clarification. The blond, busying himself with stretching his long, muscular arms, didn't seem very keen on clarifying though, so Crocodile had no choice but to settle with the short answer he got; the day I first knew real freedom.

"My turn, have you ever been in love?"

Even before Crocodile's brain had registered the actual query the corners of his mouth had dropped remarkably, and the dark haired couldn't resist but commenting on how idiotic a question that was. But, the flamingo, unsurprisingly, proved to be as persistent as ever. This was why, after a good few minutes of nagging and bickering, Crocodile gave in and answered. A low-pitched, regretful voice slipped past his otherwise guarded lips, spilling his answer.

"Hmm? I didn't quite catch you there" Doflamingo drawled, grinning mockingly, begging Crocodile to repeat his answer.

"Perhaps" the pirate obediently replied, hoping to avoid unnecessary trouble, and before the flamingo had the chance to prod deeper into his love life Crocodile had redirected the same question right back at its original asker. Not that he was particularly interested in Doflamingo's answer, but the raven haired man figured just about anything would do if it meant he could avoid the current hassle.

"Have I ever been in love?" the blond echoed thoughtfully, smacking his lips a couple of times as if he would be sampling the question, carefully going over it in his head. One of Doflamingo's large, bronze hands slowly moved up to the blond mass of hair, scratching it nonchalantly, all to add to his feigned musing. Crocodile was used to Doflamingo pulling of a charade like this once in a while, and patiently waited it out, knowing that it'd be over as soon as the blond realised he wasn't going to receive any sort of reaction. And, as expected, not even half a minute later the flamingo had burst out into a manic Doflamingo actually managed to produce a coherent answer among the cascades of laughter was beyond the pale captain's comprehension. Although, Crocodile had to point out to the flamingo that he hardly thought that "what do you think?" sufficed as a proper answer, as it was more of a counter-question, rather than an actual reply.

Snorting, Doflamingo remarked that Crocodile's answer had scarcely been any better; a comment which resulted in a significant cool down of the atmosphere in the room, both men displeased with one another. The two men spent minutes simply glaring at each other, and even though Doflamingo's eyes were covered by the customary sunglasses, which obstructed any real eye contact, Crocodile could feel the others icy stare pierce right through body.

After a while of aggressive glaring Crocodile decided it wasn't worth the pain, not under these circumstances. A challenge like this could play out for hours between them, and the older man knew he didn't have that much time to waste. Not to mention that he'd be as wrinkled as a raisin by the time he got out of the bath. With a comment displaying his lack of interest in knowing the real answer he thus dismissed the whole issue. This solution seemed to work well for Doflamingo as well, because the tanned man eagerly started to voice his next question, and so the intense battle for dominance was put on hold, at least for now.

"How many lovers have you had?"

The man opposite of Doflamingo sat still and completely expressionless for a good while. On the inside, however, Crocodile was sighing and rolling his eyes, warily wondering if the rest of the flamingo's questions were all going to follow this pattern. It was not until Doflamingo impatiently sprayed him with a new shower of bathwater that Crocodile stopped mentally cursing the blond and turned his attention back to the tedious question, thinking it over carefully before replying.

"I have had a few serious ones" Crocodile finally admitted, his face remaining unwavering even though he knew he was closely studied from behind the shades. To be honest though, Crocodile himself had been slightly taken aback by the sincerity of his answer, but he had no time to think of what had possessed him to produce it before the blond butted in.

"I'm one of them, right? Right?" he enquired, beaming happily at the stoic man. Crocodile didn't reply, but silently he admitted to himself that he did indeed count Doflamingo to his little group of serious lovers. In fact, there had been a point in time when he even had been a bit too serious for Crocodile's taste. Though, there had been a few others as well. The memory of a girl who he had been very fond of in his youth still lingered in his mind, and compared to the feelings he associated with his memories of Doflamingo the recollection of this girl stood out as exceptionally sweet.

"What are you smiling about?" The flamingo muttered in an annoyed voice, mercilessly invading Crocodile's reminiscing. Casually, the pale man cocked an ebony eyebrow at the featherbrained idiot, bluntly assuring Doflamingo that it at least was not him, to which the bird responded with an uncontrolled burst of laughter accompanied by a few idiotic comments. These were in turn effectively dismissed by Crocodile, who had his next question prepared and ready, so he didn't waste any time firing it away.

"Do you have any regrets in life?"

Immediately after the question followed a silence, an oppressing silence, and it seemed to spread throughout the whole room, infecting every nook and corner. Slowly it dawned upon Crocodile that Doflamingo was probably not jumping with joy when answering his inquiries either, rather he seemed to display a very similar degree of displeasure that Crocodile himself felt. Doflamingo still managed to hold the ever-present smile in place though, at least for the moment. And, although the younger man might not look as happy-go-lucky as he usually did, Crocodile still had to give the flamingo some credit for the strong, seemingly impenetrable, mental barrier he had constructed during his lifetime.

Crocodile couldn't tell how much time had actually ticked by before the blonde chose to answer, but it was probably less than it felt like. The answered had also been shorter than Crocodile had anticipated; it had been a simple yes, and nothing more. Truthfully, Crocodile felt inclined to dig deeper into the topic, but as he could already feel the blond glaring daggers, or perhaps icicles, at him, the older man decided against it. Nonetheless Crocodile was still deeply intrigued by the outcome of the question and made a mental note of bringing it up again sometime in the future. For now he would have to save all probing and prodding to his next question, and thus aggravating Doflamingo any further seemed like a disastrous idea.

"Your turn" Crocodile spoke calmly, urging the flamingo to take his turn, showing the blond that he had no intention of conducting any further investigation for the time being. The younger man nodded, and if he felt relieved by the fact that he had dodged a bullet he hid it well, skilfully concealing any traces of emotion on his face, pushing on with the next question.

"Why did you end things between us and get yourself imprisoned and sent to Impel Down?"

Crocodile scoffed at the blond, bitterly pointing out that his question was not one, but two. However, the damage was already done. This was the question the dark haired pirate had wanted to avoid at all cost, because the memories attached to it were something he didn't care to review, but it was too late now. Crocodile's brain had already kicked into action, replaying a dreaded scene before his golden eyes, as if it had happened only yesterday. Once again the man was forced to confront the past he so dearly wanted to forget.

**···················**

_It had been a sunny evening, about six, seven years after Crocodile had first agreed to sleep with Doflamingo. During the first few years their meetings had been rather few, and quite far apart; in other words they had met up only when the flamingo felt like it. But lately, for whatever reason, there had been quite an intense period of meetings between the two of them, and requests to hook up no longer only came from the flamingo. That sunny evening had taken place on one of these days, and Crocodile remembered having been in rather good spirits as he thought of meeting up with the blond, despite of the idiot's multiple drawbacks. After all, quite some time had passed since the two last had a chance to see each other. _

_The men had agreed to meet at a hotel located in a port town they both were headed for, and, filled with fervour, Crocodile realised he had somehow managed to arrive at the destination a few hours early. Having some time to kill and nothing in particular he needed to do, the pirate had decided to enjoy a walk through town, even though chances that he'd spot something interesting or useful were low. He had been wrong though, and all of a sudden the decision to take a stroll through town became one Crocodile came to regret deeply over the coming years. _

_What he had seen that afternoon had turned the rest of his day sour. He had seen Doflamingo, and the man hadn't been alone. The blond had each arm flung around the shoulders of a girl, both pretty, sexy ladies. And, when following them for a while it became obvious they were headed for a hotel. Not that Crocodile would have needed this verification to know what they had in plan, since Doflamingo had shamelessly showered both ladies with a generous number of kisses and inappropriate touches as they had strutted down the road. _

_It wasn't as if Crocodile hadn't always suspected that he was not the single lover of Doflamingo, but for some reason, specifically lately, he had successfully suppressed his wariness, almost to the degree where he felt ready to dismiss the painful truth altogether. This was probably the reason to why his discovery had hurt him more than he ever had imagined. Crocodile's mind was screaming in protest to what his eyes had witnessed, and his stomach was cringing involuntary. His whole body ached. _

_Not only had the dark haired man been forced to run into, and suffer, the truth in such a ruthless manner, but only now did he realise what an awful man Doflamingo really was. This was the day they had agreed to meet, a meeting that Crocodile had looked forward to, and still the flamingo felt the need to play with someone else just hours before. Why? That had been the only thing Crocodile had been able to think. Why? _

_After that his memory turned quite blurry, and Crocodile was unsure of how much time passed between 'the incident' and his returning to the ship. What he remembered, though, was an intense, painful throbbing and the overwhelming feeling of anger. Back at the ship he had ordered immediate take off. _

_Crocodile should have known a betrayal when he saw one, and everything about the flamingo screamed unfaithfulness. Wounds, wounds received long before he had ever met Doflamingo, wounds that Crocodile thought were already fully healed, were ripped up all anew._

_**···················**_

This had remained a bad day in Crocodile's mind ever since. It had been the day he realised, even if not accepted, the extent of his feelings towards the flamingo. Ever since that fated day the scarred pirate had always been able to detect the scent of others mingling with Doflamingo's own specific smell, and realised how much he hated it. It had been a day that brought up even more painful memories from his past.

Stroking his golden hook, lost in thought, Crocodile wondered why he hadn't ended the relationship then and there, as it would have spared him a huge amount of stress, and it was only with regret he could look back at the decision now. But, deep down, he knew the answer. He hadn't wanted to let go.

In other words he had been too proud to admit his own feelings, but yet incapable of fully erasing Doflamingo from the picture. So, instead of ending it all, like he should have done, he had let things go back to how they were before; letting Doflamingo decided when and where to meet. Thus they were back to the kind of meetings they had had before, those that were few, and far apart. Things had rolled on like that for many years, because that was how long it had taken for Crocodile to admit to himself what he really thought about the blond.

During many years the pirate had convinced himself of that it didn't matter whether the flamingo had other lovers as well, because his relationship to the blond was purely sexual. But it had mattered. Crocodile clearly remembered how he had always tried to excel, how he had always tried to prove himself better and more worthy of Doflamingo than his competition. But now he knew he had only struggled in vain. He had known it for a long time, but it had hurt him too much to admit. Defying the truth like this had kept the pain at bay, and Crocodile had preferred it that way.

It hadn't been until Crocodile had finally admitted to himself that he loved Doflamingo that he understood how pathetic he had been, how desperate he must have seemed. At this point he had also forgotten the reason to why he had ever felt that way about the flamingo to begin with, but sadly, when feelings had evolved as far as they had for Crocodile reasons seldom mattered. At least the revelation had helped Crocodile become aware of that he had steeredhis life onto a course that in all aspects was nothing but a fool's errand.

Doflamingo, becoming the pirate king… it had all been but an equivalent of a child's foolish dreams.

After coming to terms with his feelings Crocodile had deliberately made himself grow indifferent towards the blond's approaches, gradually resulting in a loss of any real interest in the man. Doflamingo had become just another waste of time, another distraction, a bodily relief. Just as he had intended for him to be in the beginning, before he had lost control over his feelings and letting them run amok.

Crocodile had made an effort to eliminate any trace of emotion attached to their meetings, and slowly he had started the long process of distancing himself from the younger man. And when the time came to set his plan, the plan to overtake Alabasta and find Pluton, into motion, Crocodile had finally taken the last step and severed all ties between himself and Doflamingo, ending their acquaintance for what was supposed to be forever. It had been an easy decision; even today the scarred man told himself so.

When the battle of Alabasta had finally culminated and Crocodile had turned out the loser, defeated by the Straw Hat – a rookie – he had seen the one-way ticket to Impel Down as an easy escape. It had been a way for Crocodile to finally, and permanently, break free from his pathetic life, his stupid dreams and from Doflamingo. Because, even though they had agreed upon not meeting any longer Crocodile had his doubts concerning the blond's earnestness, as the man wasn't know as one to follow directions, but rather do the exact opposite.

Crocodile had, to sum it up, completely lost perspective on his life. And this summarized answer to the question was also the one he presented to Doflamingo; he had simply lost perspective.

While Crocodile felt extremely content with his reply, having managed to avoid having a flamingo peak into his most private thoughts, Doflamingo on the other hand was notably discontent. He demanded an explanation to why Crocodile had spaced out for such a long time, but the older pirate easily avoided this by pointing out to the blond that he was not the only one to provide vague answers, and, Crocodile mockingly assured the flamingo that a man of his potential should be able to interpret the answer himself. Doflamingo glared at him for a while, but soon he broke into laughter. When settled down he opened his large mouth and laid forth a proposition.

"Let's be honest on the next question then. No round about answers this time, alright?"

Doflamingo might have been grinning jeeringly, thinking this might cause Crocodile some trouble. But, rather than trouble the dark haired man had actually suspected the flamingo would play this one card sooner or later. It suited the blond's personality to suggest something along these lines, and Crocodile had just calmly been biding his time, waiting for this chance. Doflamingo was no stupid man, but he had a flawed personality, and that was his downfall. The older man slowly moved his head up and down, signalling his agreement to the stupid bird. Then, lifting his head and letting his eyes meet with the other man's, Crocodile solemnly spoke his question; the question that had been weighing on his mind all evening.

"What happened?"

Even though Crocodile hadn't been the least bit specific about his question Doflamingo immediately seemed to know what he was getting at, because he soon roared in protest.

"That's unfair!"

"It isn't" the older replied curtly, "or are you saying that you're planning to back out on your own word?" Crocodile added, smiling, pleased to see the other's distraught expression. Doflamingo may be well guarded, but, whenever Crocodile got the chance he did enjoy seeing the blond squirm. Tormenting the blond, seeing as the opportunities to do so were extremely few, always provided the scarred pirate with a great source of amusement.

The flamingo fumed for a good few minutes, but Crocodile managed to shut out the nagging voice and enjoy the warm bath water. To know that it for once was Doflamingo, and not he, who was in a tight spot was all he needed to know to be able to close his eyes and relax. It wasn't until the complaints and curses died down, and they did eventually, that Crocodile forced one of his heavy eyelids open, his golden irises eager to see what the flamingo was up to now.

The blond's head was angled slightly downwards and his forehead was covered in deep wrinkles. It almost looked like he was sunken into deep contemplation, thoughtfully biting his lower lip. Crocodile, who was confident the answer would slip out sooner rather than later, decided to just wait out the flamingo. And sure enough, soon the blond was speaking, but what his low voice mumbled was not exactly what the former warlord had expected.

"Why do you care?"

The simple question, or perhaps it was the fact that it was announced in a voice very dissimilar to the one Doflamingo usual used, had Crocodile slightly widening his eyes before quickly narrowing them to slits again, concealing his surprise with irritation. Truth to be told Crocodile didn't know the exact answer to Doflamingo's question, but it had been gnawing away at his mind ever since the younger man had stepped onboard his ship. And, it had been annoying the hell out of him since. Anyhow, as it wasn't his turn to answer questions Crocodile didn't have to worry about the matter for now, and in a voice dripping with malicious satisfaction he reminded the flamingo of the rules of the game: one question at the time.

With a lazy smile slowly extending across his pallid features, Crocodile watch the blond react. First the blond seemed to tense all the muscles in his face, before deepening the wrinkles even further. His arms were resting on his lap, and through the clear water the older man could see those large hands were clenched into tights fist. Doflamingo seemed to be stuck in an inner battle of wills, and Crocodile soon started wondering whether he'd get any answer at all, but just as he was to let the flamingo of the hook the blond's drawling voice cut through the silence.

"One of my former… subordinates betrayed me and is now trying to sabotage my deal with Kaido" the blond stated slowly while wrinkling his brow "it's really quite a hassle" he added, laughing nonchalantly, the irritated expression that had flashed across his face just seconds ago blown away, as if it never had been there in the first place.

Crocodile cocked an eyebrow at the man's response, finding it rather dubious. It wasn't as if he doubted the flamingo's words per se, but that this alone would have rendered the flamingo so desperate and pitiful was quite a mouthful to swallow. However, Crocodile decided to play along for a while, asking about who had betrayed the birdbrain and why. As the older captain had already guessed it was the brat, Trafalgar Law, who had turned out to be the disloyal member in Doflamingo's pack, but the reasons to why the brat had taken such action was something the blond, despite Crocodile asking multiple times, didn't reveal.

Adding to the issue of Doflamingo's disloyal crewmember, whom Doflamingo kept going on and on about, there was also another question that wouldn't stop circulating in Crocodile's head; why the hell the idiot flamingo had been stupid enough to make a deal with Kaido in the first place; Kaido of all people. Upon voicing this thought the blond's exaggeratedly vivid hand movements, which Doflamingo always used when talking, came to a halt. So did the animate discussion he had been having with his rather indifferent partner. Even though Crocodile couldn't see the other's eyes he knew Doflamingo was looking right at him, and the seriousness expressed by the tanned face was a rare sight.

"Because I was bored" Doflamingo proclaimed, as if it had been the most obvious thing in the world. And, to the flamingo this might have been the case, but this was not the case for Crocodile, rather the opposite.

The raven haired man was always on edge when spending time with the frivolous idiot and it was only barely that Crocodile managed to keep his nerves in check, but the sheer stupidity of the previous comment had caused something within the older man to snap, and before he knew it he had responded to the flamingo. Or, more correctly put, he had exploded.

"That really is your reason to everything isn't it?! Your shady underground business, the slave trades… and even this!" the older man roared, flinging his left hand into the air, gesturing at the bathroom, and at the two of them, to further strengthen his argument "ALL this because YOU are bored!"

To Crocodile's dismay his little outburst didn't seem to have affected the flamingo whatsoever. The blond had only tilted his head to the side and stuck out his red tongue to lick away the droplets of water that had been flung at his face when Crocodile so roughly had raised his hand out of the bathwater. All this, while grinning, of course.

"Are you jealous, Crocodile?"

Crocodile was enraged by the comment. Doflamingo's disgustingly sickly-sweet voice made him nauseous, and never had he felt such an urge to strangle the large man, not in a long time at least. But, if Crocodile had though this had been a horrible comment it was nothing against what next had left the flamingo's mouth next.

"You don't have to be sad Crocodile; after all, you're special"

"Really?" Crocodile scoffed.

Once again they were treading down the same path they had millions of times before. This conversation never led to anything but arguing. Then again, arguing was just about the only other thing they did together except for the sex, but it was only this specific argument that Crocodile couldn't stand. Nevertheless, neither could he resist pouring oil on the fire.

"And just what is the difference between me and your shady business, not to mention all the other persons you bed?"

Immediately the blond opened his mouth to protest, gaping for words, but not a single one exited his mouth. Crocodile gave the blond exactly 20 seconds to search for an answer in that empty head of his, but when Doflamingo was still frantically searching after his time was up the older man spoke up yet again.

"Exactly, there is none! We're all just a means to an end, something you can fill up your humongous void of boredom with… Toys? Games? Call it whatever you like…"

Crocodile hadn't meant to express his feelings quite so genuinely, but now, when he had started his rant, he found it surprisingly hard to quit, so he just went on with it.

"Your sweet-talk might charm some of the other dimwits you sleep with, but it won't work on me. I've been aware of your game from the beginning. I don't mind much, being your 'means to an end', as I gain from it as well, but just don't try to feed me that crap!"

Crocodile quite literally spat out the last few words. His chest was heaving rapidly and his breath was rugged. The dark haired had to admit that he hadn't quite expected that his anger would make him lose control over his emotions, at least not to this degree, but what was done was done. Doflamingo on the other hand remained completely impassive; his normalness only annoying Crocodile further.

"I came because I wanted to"

The words had been chosen carefully, and they had been spoken with stoic gravity. Although the words reached Crocodile's ears, at this point they sounded like no more than cheap lies.

"Well, that was unexpected… Were you bored?" the older captain hissed, and turned his head in order to send a furious look the flamingo's way.

"…"  
"…"

"No… I just felt like seeing you…"

When the answer finally came it was weak, almost as if it had been spoken softly and without confidence.

"Couldn't you come up with anything better?" the scarred man snarled, oblivious to the change in the blond's demeanour.

Crocodile was fed up with and tired of this game. They were always just repeating the same things over, and over, and over again until the flamingo finally put an end to it all, laughing it off with one stupid remark or another. And, the excuses he used were formed so effortless they almost seemed genuine, however, in Doflamingo's case the effortlessness only pissed the older pirate off further.

It seemed though, as if Crocodile wasn't the only one to feel aggravated.

Without warning the blond suddenly rose from the bath, and whereas he usually walked with a stoop he now stood straight. The trademark smile only vaguely played upon his features, and his large hands were again balled into humongous fists, the colour of his hands rapidly draining away because of the force Doflamingo put into clenching them. With shoulders trembling, with what Crocodile could only interpret as pure rage, Doflamingo stood towered over him, glaring down at him threateningly.

"Why is it that everything I say comes across as a lie to you?"

A simple question requires nothing but a simple answer, and without budging Crocodile provided such an answer for his younger, impatient partner, even though it should be a matter already obvious. Then again, Doflamingo wasn't the brightest of men when it came to these things, so the dark haired pirate figured he needed all the help he could get.

"Because you are that kind of man"

Crocodile had been almost certain that the blond would lash out of him, because as they had exchanged words the blond had quickly released his fists from their death grip and readied himself to use his devil fruit powers. But the attack never came. Instead Doflamingo's face had got caught up in an expression displaying nothing but disinterest, and slowly he had returned his arms to his sides, letting them hang loosely, only flexing his long fingers a little.

Crocodile felt slightly disappointed. He had been anticipating a good fight; and adding to it, a fight would have provided him with a great excuse to throw the damn bird overboard. Therefore the blond's lack of reaction was anything but desired. The only solution to the problem, as far as Crocodile could see, was thus to annoy the blond even more, and while he was aware of that he might put himself at certain risk by doing so it was all too tempting to resist.

"Did your face muscles finally give in?"

The comment, uttered in a voice dripping with sarcasm, had the room momentarily sink into dead silence. But, this was only the clam before the storm.

Without warning Doflamingo threw back his head and laughed. The sound he produced was some sort of a mad howling, and it caused cold shivers to run up and down Crocodile's back. The man must be insane, or so the older prate thought, because the sound that left his lips was similar to none he had ever heard before, and he was sure no sane person could ever provoke such an animalistic, feral sound. The dark haired warily, unsure of whether he actually wanted to or not, flicked his eyes upwards to get a proper look at unnatural scene unfolding in front of him.

The blond was just standing there; stark naked, arms hanging limp at his sides, head still thrown back and his ginormous mouth gaping wide open. And, from that mouth a constant stream of laughter poured out. Crocodile felt like averting his gaze, because what he saw made him feel strangely uneasy, but for whatever reason he found himself unable to tear his golden orbs away from the flamingo. The tanned face seldom expressed this much emotion, and, even if it was in an unsettling way, the dark haired found the younger's face very intriguing. So he kept looking…and listening.

Although Crocodile didn't really feel like listening, but wished to observe the scenario in soundless mode, it couldn't be helped. He had brought this one upon himself.

The eruption of laughter just never seemed to end, and the fact that the two were in a bathroom didn't make thing better either, as all sound effortlessly bounced off the shiny white, tiled walls, reverberating through the room with doubled force.

While the blond pirate's face might have proved remotely interesting the older man had heard Doflamingo laugh enough times to last him more than a lifetime. But, just as he was about to tell the overgrown bird to shut his trap a slight change in the nature of the laughter caught his attention. When listening closely, he noticed that the noise produced by Doflamingo no longer resembled actual laughter, but how it was more similar to hollow and drawn-out wailing.

Laughter he could handle, even though it annoyed the hell out of him, but wailing he could not. In other words Crocodile had been at a complete loss of what to do. Thus, when the horrible sound finally died down he felt utterly relieved, but one quick look at Doflamingo's face immediately erased all such feelings. The blond's face was empty, deprived of all emotion, much like it had been when Crocodile had first discovered the flamingo upon deck.

The raven haired man could feel how his muscles were growing tenser as he prepared for what chaos might come, because he did honestly not know what to expect next. If the flamingo was fickle on a normal basis, it was nothing compared to today, so the older man made sure to not let down his guard even the slightest. He knew for a fact that Doflamingo had killed in previous fits of madness, and even though Crocodile knew he could defend himself if needed he didn't want to be put in such a compromising situation; not to mention it would wreak havoc on his ship. But, his anxiety had proven unwarranted. The storm Crocodile had been expecting never took place, although this didn't mean Doflamingo hadn't managed to take him by surprise.

"Both Monet and Vergo are dead"

Without warning the words had slipped out of Doflamingo, who stood with his head lowered and intently peered at the surface of the lukewarm bathwater, as if he had been studying the cloudy, but yet translucent, liquid.

While Crocodile carefully went through the statement in his head he also decided to rest his eyes on the same spot as the blond, curious to see what could be so fascinating with ordinary bathwater. Of course there was nothing out of the ordinary. Except for the few ripples caused by the small droplets of water falling from Doflamingo's light hair, and the occasional sound they made when hitting the surface, the bathwater was just that; bathwater.

Yet, while looking at it Crocodile's thoughts seemed to grow clearer, and perhaps it was like this for the flamingo too, because when thinking of the flamingo's previous sentence it felt almost as if Doflamingo had actually been talking more to himself than to Crocodile. His voice had been low, a lot weaker than usual, and the words had been spoken quite carefully, as if the younger man had tested them, tasted them, looking to know if they really were true. It was as if he had been trying to convince himself. It very much reminded Crocodile of a certain process he was all too acquainted with, namely the process of finally admitting the bitter truth to oneself. There was no better way than to actually speak it out loud.

All of a sudden Doflamingo snapped his head back up and stared right into the eyes of Crocodile, the sudden motion putting an abrupt end to the older man's analyzing.

"Is that a reason good enough for you?" the blond spat, and not even waiting for a response the flamingo left the question hanging in the air and exited the bathroom, soaking wet and without a towel.

Crocodile was left dumfounded in the large, white bathtub, and he remained like that for quite a while, not knowing what to feel and how to react to this most recent development. He had indeed received what he deemed an honest answer to his last question, and now the captain finally knew the underlying reasons to Doflamingo's foul mood, but it did certainly not facilitated the situation. In all honesty, it only complicated matters further. Then again, it was Doflamingo's problem and not his, so why should he be bothered.

Crocodile slowly rose from the bath and headed for the shower in hopes of that a cold, refreshing one would clear his mind from all involving the pink bird, but it was without avail. Time and time again he found his thoughts travelling back to the previous events, running them through in his head, studying the blond's reactions, trying to interpret his behaviour. The sole fact that he couldn't simply erase the flamingo from his mind made Crocodile's mood sink even lower, and after what was supposed to have been a rejuvenating shower he felt all but revived.

Angry with himself he stalked over to a cupboard by the door and snatched a soft and fluffy piece of cloth from atop of a pile with clean and dry towels. Wrapping the soft fabric around his waist a horrendous image floated into his mind; a soaking Doflamingo dripping water all over his expensive carpet.

Crocodile had been meaning to simply ignore the ravaging blond, and pretend as if they had never touched any emotionally loaded topics during their conversation. But, the dark haired pirate simply couldn't stand the thought of his ship getting ruined because of a dim-wittedblond, and so Crocodile reluctantly grabbed another towel from the shelf. The corners of his mouth drawing the shape of an upside-down turned letter U, the scarred pirated pushed open the heavy bathroom door, quietly hoping that the act of presenting Doflamingo with a towel wouldn't be interpreted as a gesture of kindness by his annoying visitor, because the dark haired for sure held no such sentiments. Unthinkable, that's what it was.

* * *

I hope you enjoyed this chapter despite the OCCness.  
Now I need sleep!  
It's a bit early but, Happy New Year to you all!


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